Door handles are subjected to various stresses, including door seal loads and vibration. Over time, such stresses may lead to failure or fracture of the door handle. In particular, the plunger tunnel of the door handle housing is subject to fracture or failure due to excessive or repetitive forces. Prior art plunger tunnels are generally constructed with relatively thin walls with square interior and exterior corners which concentrate the stress forces, thereby causing premature failure.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a door handle with an improved plunger tunnel to dissipate stresses, thereby minimizing or eliminating fracture and failure.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a door handle housing having a plunger tunnel which is D-shaped in cross-section.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a plunger tunnel on a door handle housing having thickened corners to dissipate forces.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a door handle housing with a plunger tunnel wherein the rearward interior corners are curved to avoid stress concentration.
Still another objective is the provision of an improved door handle which is economical to manufacture and durable in use.
These and other objectives become apparent from the following description of the invention.
The improved door handle of the present invention includes a housing adapted to be mounted in a door structure. A paddle is pivotally mounted in the housing for movement between open and closed positions to latch and unlatch the door handle relative to the door structure. The housing includes a plunger tunnel, with a plunger slidably mounted within the tunnel for actuation by the paddle. The plunger tunnel has a substantially square exterior perimeter and a D-shaped interior perimeter so as to define thickened rearward corners adapted to dissipate stresses to which the door handle is subjected, thereby minimizing or eliminating failure and fracture of the tunnel.